Lacing-hook.



Patented Ian. M, I902. F. J. A. PERRY.

LAQING HOOK. (Application fllepl May 2, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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FRANK J. A. PERRY, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO CHARLES H. WVALDEN, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

LAClNG HOOK.

SPECIFICATION forming; part of "Letters Fatent No. 690,993, dated January 1 1, 1902.

Application filed May 2, 1901.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK JOHN ALBERT PERRY, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and 5 State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Lacing- Hooks for We'aring- Apparel, or" which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to lacing-hooks for wearing-apparel, and is especially designed to be used on ladies shoes, gloves, and similar articles of apparel, and has for its object to provide lacing-hooks of novel construction by means of which the lace may be conveniently, easily, and rapidly laced and unlaced, which will not catch, become entangled in, or wear the clothing or the trimmings or fringes thereon, in which the ends of the hooks will be entirely covered by the lace, and which will not abrade the apparel or be a source of discomfort to the wearer.

To these ends myinvention consists in the novel lacing-hook constructed and arranged in the manner hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims following the description, reference being had to the ac companying drawings, forming a part of this specification, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my 0 improved lacing-hooks applied to the shoe. Fig. 2 is a View, on an enlarged scale, showing one of the hooks applied to a shoe. Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the hook. Fig. 4 is a similar view looking from the other side 5 of the hook. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the hooks. Fig. 6 is a view showing the hook attached to the shoe or article of apparel so as to project beyond the edge of the latter. Fig. 7 is a view in side elevation of the hook shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a view of the blank from which the hook is made.

In forming my improved book a blank of the shape shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings is cut or stamped out from a piece of sheet metal 5 or other suitable material. Said blank comprises a flat and relatively broad head 1, from one side or end of which projects a shank 2. In the example shown integral prongs 3 proj ect from the opposite side or end of the head,

which are afterward bent at right angles to the head to serve as a convenient means for Serial No. 58,445. (N0 m l-l attaching the lacing-hook to the shoe. I do not confine myself to the use of said prongs for attaching the lacing-hook to the shoe, as other well-known or preferred means for the purpose may be employed. After the blank has been formed in the manner described the end of the shank 2 is bent, curved, or turned under to form the hook-bill 4:, said hook-bill being bent or deflected to one side from under the shank. The shank 2 of the hook is then given a slight torsional twist or quarter-turn, the twist being formed in a direction toward the side on which the hook-bill projects. It will be noted that one side of the shank 2 is perfectly straight throughout its length, as at 5, while the outer end or corner of the other side thereof is cut away or removed, as at 6, to form a bevel or incline.

In applying the hooks to the slit portion of the upper they are arranged at an angle to the edges of the slit, the shanks being inclined upwardly toward said edges at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees. Nheh the hooks have been applied to the shoe in the manner described, the shanks of each oppositely-arranged pair of hooks will project angularly upward toward one another, as shown in Fig. 1, said shanks being inclined upward or outward from the head 1, as most clearly shown in Fig. 4, which arrangement renders the hooks most easily and conveniently engaged by the lace. By torsionally twisting the shank in the manner described the beveled corner or side of the bill-hook is caused to lie next to the shoe-upper, and said beveled corner, in connection with the adjacent or underlying portion of the upper,forms a gradually-contracted or narrowed throatway into which the lace can be readily and quickly guided and through which the lace can be most easily slipped. Moreover, by beveling the corner or side of the hook-bill in the manner referred to an abrupt edge or projection is avoided which would otherwise have a tendency to abrade or wear the leather and produce an uncomfortable pressure on the foot of the wearer. By bending the hookbill laterally or to one side from beneath the shank the lace after it has been slipped beneath the hook-bill naturally and of itself slips over said laterally-projecting bill and IOC) between the latter and the shank, and in addition thereto after the shoe has been laced up the lace completely covers the ends of the hook-bills and prevents the latter from catching or becoming entangled in the edge of the skirt or the trimming thereon or from tearing or fraying the same.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3, and at I have shown the lacing-hooks so applied or secured to the shoe that the ends of the hooks do not quite reach to the edges of the slit in the upper, and this is the preferred arrangement, especially for shoes; but in Figs. 6 and 7 I have shown the hooks secured in place in such manner that the bill-hooks project beyond the edge of the article of apparel to which they are attached, this being desirable in some styles of garments.

It will be noted that it necessarily results from laterally bending the hook-bills to one side beneath the shanks and torsionally twisting the latter in the manner described that the lacing-hooks be made rights and lefts, or, in other Words, one set of hooks must be made for application to one side of the upper and a reversely bent and twisted set of hooks for the other side of the upper,and this is of advantage in that it insures each hook being so set that in the operation of lacing the shoe the lace readily, easily, and naturally slips into place in the hooks without care or pains being exercised on the part of the wearer.

To lace the shoe, it is merely necessary to slip the lace beneath the end of the hook and give it a very slight downward and outward pull, whereupon, owing to the beveled edge or corner of the hook-bill forming the gradually-constructed throatway,in the manner described, the lace will most readily and easily' slip under the hook-bill, and as the lace is carried over to the other side of the shoe to engage the next lacing-hook it will, owing to the hook-bill being bent or deflected to one side, as shown, slip over the hook-bill and under the shank without any attention on the part of the one lacing the shoe whatsoever.

I have described the lacing-hook as being applied to a ladys shoe; but it will be obvious that it may be applied to all kinds of laced shoes and to various dificrent kinds of wearing-apparel.

Having described my invention, what I claim is a 1. A lacing-hook comprising a head provided with means for its attachment to the article to be laced and provided at one side with a rigid shank formed integral with the head, said shank being arched above the plane of the head and terminating in an underturned hook-bill bent laterally to one side from beneath the shank, the transverse plane of said arched portion of the .shank being disposed at an angle to the head.

2. A lacing-hook comprising a head provided with means for its attachment to the article to be laced and provided at one side with a shank terminating in an underturned hookbill, said shank being torsionally twisted, whereby the hook-bill lies in a plane inclined relatively to the plane of the head, substantially as described.

3. A lacing-hook comprising a head having means for its attachment to the article to be laced and provided at one side with a shank terminating in an undertu rned hook-bill bent laterally to one side from beneath the shank, said shank being torsionally twisted, substantially as described.

4. A lacing-hook comprising ahead having means for its attachment to the article to be laced and provided at one side with a shank terminating in an underturned hook-bill bent laterally to one side and inclined or beveled off at its under corner, said shank being torsionally twisted, substantially as described.

5. A lacing-hook comprising a head having means for its attachment to the article to be laced and provided at one side with an arched shank terminating in a fiat underturned hookbill bent laterally to one side from beneath the shank, said shank being torsionally twisted in the direction toward which the hook-bill is laterally bent, substantially as described.

6. In combination with an article to be laced, a lacing-hook comprising a head attached to said article and provided at one side with an integral rigid shank arched above the plane of the head and terminatingin an underturned hook-bill bent laterally to one side from beneath the shank, said hook-bill lying in a plane inclined relatively to the plane of the head and having its under corner beveled off so that the said beveled end of the bill lies parallel with the surface of the article to which the head is attached.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. FRANK J. A. PERRY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES J. MoOULLoUcH, ISAIAH SOHEELINE. 

